In her dynamic interview, Indy shares her journey to the energy
sector, as well her reflections on various roles she held before
Alectra. With her unique experience, she shares her thoughts on the
challenges facing the industry, from government intervention in the
sector to opportunities for diversity and inclusion. Indy also
reflects on what qualities and approaches can help women succeed in
any industry – being brave, leading firmly and fairly,
managing your self-talk and finding your authentic voice.

How did you originally get involved in energy-related
work?

I confess – I didn't grow up dreaming to be Vice
President Regulatory Affairs at a utility company.

I completed an undergraduate degree in biology and psychology at
McMaster. I broke the news to my then shocked physician parents
that I was not going into medicine, and I did an MBA at McMaster,
graduating in 2000. My first role out of business school was at
PriceWaterhouseCoopers in management consulting. I lived in
Brussels for almost a year and travelled regularly to client sites
in Lyons, Brussels and Milan. Based on my skill set, once I came
back to Toronto I was put on a very interesting project – the
opening of the retail market for electricity; the client was the
Ontario Energy Board in 2001. Whether I caught the energy bug or it
caught me, I owe so much to that one project.

Since then, I have not looked back. The issues and challenges
continue to evolve and, as a result, I believe that people have
made tremendous careers in the sector.

What are some of changes you have seen and what waves of change
do you anticipate?

The extent of government intervention into the energy space and
electricity more particularly is quite amazing. Many Ontarians are
upset about higher electricity prices, and with good reason. The
government strongly believes that it is within its mandate to
manage the price of electricity. It is always a hot button issue
with respect to elections. When you are trying to secure votes,
creating policies for one of the biggest line items to hit
Ontarians' disposable income is certainly a vote-getter.
However, for the sector, what we need most is consistency and
clarity in policy.

Another challenge we are facing is technological innovation and
change. The sector struggles with the idea of making asset
investments today, knowing that those assets are likely going to be
stranded as technology changes.

A related challenge is the change in customer behaviour.
Frankly, utilities are not going to be commodity companies anymore.
We are either going to be data companies or we are going to be
customer service companies.

Finally, the energy sector faces a challenge that is being felt
in other sectors; we have an aging workforce and need to consider
succession planning in order to have future leaders in place. My
earlier comment was that I didn't grow up dreaming that I
wanted to be in energy. Well, why not? It is a very innovative
sector, full of bright-minded people, and it has huge challenges
ahead.

Connected to this issue, as an industry, we don't always
legitimize the experience of people who come from outside the
sector. When we talk about unconscious bias, usually we are talking
about gender biases and cultural biases – the way people look
– but historically, we also have had an unconscious bias
against recognizing the value of people's experiences outside
the energy sector. We have a significant percentage of our
workforce set to retire over the next 10 years and we absolutely
need to recruit from other industries to get different minds with
relevant experience and transferable skills.

What are the key challenges and opportunities that you see for
women as leaders?

We should be teaching girls at a young age that it is brave to
try, regardless of the outcome, and not to fear failure.

By not allowing girls to get comfortable with the concept of
taking risks, we invariably affect the ways in which women think of
themselves as leaders.

As women, we need to learn to be comfortable with failure or
making a mistake – we often think of it as devastating as
opposed to an opportunity for learning. It has taken me a very long
time to realize that a business failure is not a personal failure.
They are not the same thing. We need to remind ourselves to be
braver, to be willing to stand out, and that it is okay to fail.
That is a very big lesson.

From a leadership perspective more generally, we need to
lead in a manner that is firm and fair. We may not be
everybody's best friend, but we do need to earn our teams'
and colleagues' respect.

We need to manage our negative self-talk. Negative
self-talk is probably the single most counter-productive thing that
we do to ourselves. It is dangerous because it impacts the way we
operate as leaders and sabotages our efforts. It is important to
take a proactive approach to the way you talk to yourself and
self-correct. If you start thinking in a positive way, that
contributes to your success. You become naturally a more
inspirational person not only to yourself, but to other people
around you.

Finally, women need to find their authentic voice and be
able to follow through. You can be authentic in your own heart
and yet, because of self-talk, not project that voice externally.
Share and feed that authentic voice in everything that you do.

What would you say are the qualities that have gotten you to
where you are today?

One factor is recognizing that the world is outcome-oriented and
the energy sector perhaps more so than most. At Alectra, we deal
largely in a regulated space where our regulator evaluates us based
on outcome. Part of being successful today in a senior leadership
role is the result of sharing that drive for outcome. However, I
think being outcome-oriented – call it type "A,"
call it driven – gets you only so far. It matters how you got
there. You have to consider how you deliver the results.

Another contributing factor is understanding the language of the
position or context and anticipating what that audience needs. What
do other people need from you in order for them to deliver? If you
can constantly be seen as clairvoyant, that naturally tees you up
for that next level. When a higher position opens, the natural
question is 'who is next in line.' Even if the succession
isn't immediately obvious, you may come to mind as a
"go-to person."

Do you have any thoughts on the role the industry has in
ensuring diversity and inclusion?

The executive team at my predecessor utility, Horizon Utilities,
was 50% or more female. At Alectra, our Executive Committee is
currently comprised of five Caucasian men. At first glance, from a
diversity perspective, that might seem negative. When you look
deeper, however, that outcome is a function of those individuals
being the right people for the job at the time of the merger that
created the company.

In the past few decades, when women started work at the
utilities, they held roles in customer service and other
administrative roles – much less frequently have they been
part of the engineering groups or field staff or senior management.
However, we are in a wave of change. It has taken one or two
generations to get to the point where women are now in senior
roles. Increasingly, women are making up a larger proportion of the
senior leadership table, and getting the experience they need to be
well-positioned to take positions in the C-suite over the next few
years. Change is coming; it requires a bit of patience. I see it at
Alectra; our women leaders are poised to move to that next level;
in fact, our Senior Leadership Team is approximately 50% female
today. The question will be in the next round of positions to be
filled, when there are retirements in the C-Suite, who has acquired
the relevant experiences to take those roles.

Going back to my earlier point, women need to take the proactive
steps to get that experience and make themselves the best candidate
and hopefully the first choice for the next leadership position
that becomes available. Take risks, learn continuously and let
yourself be seen as a leader.

In preparing for these leadership roles, it is often helpful to
have mentors and sponsors along the way. I believe that you need
both. Mentors are useful along the way to model success. However, I
put more value on sponsors within an organization, because who else
is going to lift you up? You can apply for the next role and you
may get it without a sponsor – but someone in a position of
influence having you in mind, or ensuring that you are presented
with opportunities, championing you – that is critical.

What advice do you have for a woman starting her career in the
energy sector?

Also, be willing to promote others around you. That does not
just mean promoting women. It is about promoting that next level of
people, for example, facilitating opportunities for people that do
not usually have them, including face time with senior
leadership.

However, that next level certainly does include women. I have
heard people say that women cut other women down, or think that
there is not enough space in a boardroom for two women. Unless we
are conscious about our efforts in that regard, it is never going
to stop. If we are not willing to lift each other up, why should
our male counterparts?

The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.

To print this article, all you need is to be registered on Mondaq.com.

Click to Login as an existing user or Register so you can print this article.

This service is completely free. Access 250,000 archived articles from 100+ countries and get a personalised email twice a week covering developments (and yes, our lawyers like to think you’ve read our Disclaimer).

Email Address

Company Name

Password

Confirm Password

Position

Mondaq Topics -- Select your Interests

Accounting

Anti-trust

Commercial

Compliance

Consumer

Criminal

Employment

Energy

Environment

Family

Finance

Government

Healthcare

Immigration

Insolvency

Insurance

International

IP

Law Performance

Law Practice

Litigation

Media & IT

Privacy

Real Estate

Strategy

Tax

Technology

Transport

Wealth Mgt

Regions

Africa

Asia

Asia Pacific

Australasia

Canada

Caribbean

Europe

European Union

Latin America

Middle East

U.K.

United States

Worldwide Updates

Registration (you must scroll down to set your data preferences)

Mondaq Ltd requires you to register and provide information that personally identifies you, including your content preferences, for three primary purposes (full details of Mondaq’s use of your personal data can be found in our Privacy and Cookies Notice):

To allow you to personalize the Mondaq websites you are visiting to show content ("Content") relevant to your interests.

To enable features such as password reminder, news alerts, email a colleague, and linking from Mondaq (and its affiliate sites) to your website.

Mondaq hopes that our registered users will support us in maintaining our free to view business model by consenting to our use of your personal data as described below.

Mondaq has a "free to view" business model. Our services are paid for by Contributors in exchange for Mondaq providing them with access to information about who accesses their content. Once personal data is transferred to our Contributors they become a data controller of this personal data. They use it to measure the response that their articles are receiving, as a form of market research. They may also use it to provide Mondaq users with information about their products and services.

Details of each Contributor to which your personal data will be transferred is clearly stated within the Content that you access. For full details of how this Contributor will use your personal data, you should review the Contributor’s own Privacy Notice.

Please indicate your preference below:

Yes, I am happy to support Mondaq in maintaining its free to view business model by agreeing to allow Mondaq to share my personal data with Contributors whose Content I access

No, I do not want Mondaq to share my personal data with Contributors

Also please let us know whether you are happy to receive communications promoting products and services offered by Mondaq:

Yes, I am happy to received promotional communications from Mondaq

No, please do not send me promotional communications from Mondaq

Terms & Conditions

Mondaq.com (the Website) is owned and managed by Mondaq Ltd (Mondaq). Mondaq grants you a non-exclusive, revocable licence to access the Website and associated services, such as the Mondaq News Alerts (Services), subject to and in consideration of your compliance with the following terms and conditions of use (Terms). Your use of the Website and/or Services constitutes your agreement to the Terms. Mondaq may terminate your use of the Website and Services if you are in breach of these Terms or if Mondaq decides to terminate the licence granted hereunder for any reason whatsoever.

Use of www.mondaq.com

To Use Mondaq.com you must be: eighteen (18) years old or over; legally capable of entering into binding contracts; and not in any way prohibited by the applicable law to enter into these Terms in the jurisdiction which you are currently located.

You may use the Website as an unregistered user, however, you are required to register as a user if you wish to read the full text of the Content or to receive the Services.

You may not modify, publish, transmit, transfer or sell, reproduce, create derivative works from, distribute, perform, link, display, or in any way exploit any of the Content, in whole or in part, except as expressly permitted in these Terms or with the prior written consent of Mondaq. You may not use electronic or other means to extract details or information from the Content. Nor shall you extract information about users or Contributors in order to offer them any services or products.

In your use of the Website and/or Services you shall: comply with all applicable laws, regulations, directives and legislations which apply to your Use of the Website and/or Services in whatever country you are physically located including without limitation any and all consumer law, export control laws and regulations; provide to us true, correct and accurate information and promptly inform us in the event that any information that you have provided to us changes or becomes inaccurate; notify Mondaq immediately of any circumstances where you have reason to believe that any Intellectual Property Rights or any other rights of any third party may have been infringed; co-operate with reasonable security or other checks or requests for information made by Mondaq from time to time; and at all times be fully liable for the breach of any of these Terms by a third party using your login details to access the Website and/or Services

however, you shall not: do anything likely to impair, interfere with or damage or cause harm or distress to any persons, or the network; do anything that will infringe any Intellectual Property Rights or other rights of Mondaq or any third party; or use the Website, Services and/or Content otherwise than in accordance with these Terms; use any trade marks or service marks of Mondaq or the Contributors, or do anything which may be seen to take unfair advantage of the reputation and goodwill of Mondaq or the Contributors, or the Website, Services and/or Content.

Mondaq reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to take any action that it deems necessary and appropriate in the event it considers that there is a breach or threatened breach of the Terms.

Mondaq’s Rights and Obligations

Unless otherwise expressly set out to the contrary, nothing in these Terms shall serve to transfer from Mondaq to you, any Intellectual Property Rights owned by and/or licensed to Mondaq and all rights, title and interest in and to such Intellectual Property Rights will remain exclusively with Mondaq and/or its licensors.

Mondaq shall use its reasonable endeavours to make the Website and Services available to you at all times, but we cannot guarantee an uninterrupted and fault free service.

Mondaq reserves the right to make changes to the services and/or the Website or part thereof, from time to time, and we may add, remove, modify and/or vary any elements of features and functionalities of the Website or the services.

Mondaq also reserves the right from time to time to monitor your Use of the Website and/or services.

Disclaimer

The Content is general information only. It is not intended to constitute legal advice or seek to be the complete and comprehensive statement of the law, nor is it intended to address your specific requirements or provide advice on which reliance should be placed. Mondaq and/or its Contributors and other suppliers make no representations about the suitability of the information contained in the Content for any purpose. All Content provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. Mondaq and/or its Contributors and other suppliers hereby exclude and disclaim all representations, warranties or guarantees with regard to the Content, including all implied warranties and conditions of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title and non-infringement. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Mondaq expressly excludes all representations, warranties, obligations, and liabilities arising out of or in connection with all Content. In no event shall Mondaq and/or its respective suppliers be liable for any special, indirect or consequential damages or any damages whatsoever resulting from loss of use, data or profits, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other tortious action, arising out of or in connection with the use of the Content or performance of Mondaq’s Services.

General

Mondaq may alter or amend these Terms by amending them on the Website. By continuing to Use the Services and/or the Website after such amendment, you will be deemed to have accepted any amendment to these Terms.

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales and you irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales to settle any dispute which may arise out of or in connection with these Terms. If you live outside the United Kingdom, English law shall apply only to the extent that English law shall not deprive you of any legal protection accorded in accordance with the law of the place where you are habitually resident ("Local Law"). In the event English law deprives you of any legal protection which is accorded to you under Local Law, then these terms shall be governed by Local Law and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with these Terms shall be subject to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts where you are habitually resident.

You may print and keep a copy of these Terms, which form the entire agreement between you and Mondaq and supersede any other communications or advertising in respect of the Service and/or the Website.

No delay in exercising or non-exercise by you and/or Mondaq of any of its rights under or in connection with these Terms shall operate as a waiver or release of each of your or Mondaq’s right. Rather, any such waiver or release must be specifically granted in writing signed by the party granting it.

If any part of these Terms is held unenforceable, that part shall be enforced to the maximum extent permissible so as to give effect to the intent of the parties, and the Terms shall continue in full force and effect.

Mondaq shall not incur any liability to you on account of any loss or damage resulting from any delay or failure to perform all or any part of these Terms if such delay or failure is caused, in whole or in part, by events, occurrences, or causes beyond the control of Mondaq. Such events, occurrences or causes will include, without limitation, acts of God, strikes, lockouts, server and network failure, riots, acts of war, earthquakes, fire and explosions.

By clicking Register you state you have read and agree to our Terms and Conditions